🌱 Sacramento Utility Bill Help + Local Cannabis Burglaries

Welcome to the Sacramento Daily Patch Newsletter! This is where you will find all of the best news and events happening in Sacramento for Wednesday, December 22nd!

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First, today's weather:

Cloudy with a bit of rain. High: 52 Low: 51.

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Here are the top 5 stories today in Sacramento:

1. The Home Energy Assistance Program announced it has an extra $10 million available to help low-income families get caught up on their utility bills. The program benefits people in Sacramento, Sutter, and Yuba counties. It's grant money so customers do not have to pay it back. All people have to do is apply to see if they qualify for HEAP. There is no deadline to apply for utility help. HEAP expects the extra funds to last until at least October. (KCRA3)
2. Sacramento elementary school district teacher, Enrique Rodriguez Valladares, is facing eight counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office announced Monday. Valladares was a 3rd grade teacher at Bowling Green Chacon Language and Science Academy in the Sacramento City Unified School District. Deputies said there are multiple victims roughly spanning August 2017 to June 2019. Valladares is in jail with a bail of $1 million. The Sacramento City Unified School District said Valladares has not worked at one of its schools since the district learned of the allegations. (ABC10)
3. The Yolo County Children's Alliance held its annual Holiday Toy Distribution for West Sacramento families providing children and families with new toys, community resources and supplies with a drive-thru experience featuring superheroes, princesses and other characters. Quirina Orozco, West Sacramento's Mayor Pro Tempore, said the event was important to make sure that children in the community have the warmth and feeling of being connected to a larger part of the city. The United Way California Capital Region distributed $100 in cash to every family attending the event. The money distribution was not announced beforehand so each envelope handed out to participating families was a complete surprise to them. (Woodland Daily Democrat)
4. A career criminal in Sacramento County has been convicted of the attempted premeditated murder of a peace officer and multiple assault charges related to an officer-involved shooting. Jimmy Vang, of Sacramento, fired shots at authorities back in June 2017 and led them on a high-speed chase. The gun Vang used was never found. Vang has a criminal history spanning more than 20 years and 16 convictions. His crimes include vehicle theft, burglary, identity theft and credit card theft. Vang now faces more than 57 years to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 14. (CBS Sacramento)
5. Sacramento police are investigating a series of burglaries targeting local cannabis distributors. Sacramento police say there's been more than 50 marijuana business break-ins since August, including at least six in just the last week. Surveillance video from the most recent crime shows a crew of at least seven people, in two cars, breaking into a warehouse run by Sovereign, a delivery-only dispensary. The city requires all cannabis production facilities to have cameras, alarms, and other security in place, but police are urging owners to take even more measures to protect their pot. (Good Day Sacramento)

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Wednesday's events in Sacramento:

• Experience an Irish Christmas In America at the The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts in Sacramento. (7:00 PM)
• Watch the Kings take on the Clippers at Golden 1 Center. (7:00 PM)
• Laugh along with the Christmas Comedy Countdown with Carlos Rodriguez at Laughs Unlimited in Old Sac. (8:00 PM)
• Enjoy at a HaHa Holiday featuring Key Lewis at Punch Line in Sacramento. (8:00 PM)

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From my notebook:

• Give your family the gift of good health and safety this holiday season by visiting one of these COVID-19 vaccination events in your area. (Sacramento Observer)
• In observance of Christmas, most Sacramento County offices will be closed on Friday, Dec. 24. Garbage service, as well as all emergency services will continue. All offices will return to normal business hours on Monday, Dec. 27. (Saccounty.gov)
• Forgot to send your letter to Santa this year? Don't despair! There's still time! Just put it in Santa's Magic Mailbox at the corner of 44th and N Street in Sacramento. If you're on Santa's nice list, he'll not only read your letter, he'll respond! You can put your mail in the box to him right up until Christmas Day, but what are you waiting for? Get those requests in now so Rudolph doesn't have to wait for you before he can fire up the sleigh on Christmas morning. (Good Day Sacramento)

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Now you're in the loop for today. I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow with a new update!

— Jeri Karges

About me: Jeri Karges has been living in and loving the Sacramento region for over 30 years. Her passion is finding new and unique ways to enjoy the city and surrounding areas. On weekends, you can find her pestering her friends to sample the restaurant that doesn't have silverware, or try their hand at throwing an axe. Jeri also enjoys writing about retirement planning at https://rockinretirement.subst...